“Used to dream in that small town/ Another born romantic that’s me…” John Mellencamp, “Small Town”

Automythography – A work of nonfiction that looks reflectively at what we think we remember and how we think we remember it; an iridescent memory based upon truth and fact. Rick D. Niece

Rick D. Niece made a promise to a childhood friend, and while the central premise of his book The Side-Yard Superhero revolves around his visit later in life to his ailing former companion in which he fulfills that promise, the book is more about the simplicity and human decency found in the everyday experiences of small-town America.

Niece, president of College of the Ozarks, constructs his tale almost as if he pulled the old John Irving trick and started with the ending of the story and then moved backward to the first sentence. In between is the story of Niece’s childhood in DeGraff, Ohio.

As a boy, Niece secures a paper route and, in so doing, interacts with virtually everyone in his hometown. This includes the unforgettable Bernie Jones, who – stricken with cerebral palsy – eagerly awaits Niece’s arrival on his bicycle each day from his wheelchair in the yard along the side of the house.

The reader encounters church socials, trick or treating, and Boy Scout award ceremonies. Even the carnival comes to town and, you guessed it, Rickie takes Bernie.

Think Mitch Albom, and you have the idea of the type of storytelling you will experience in Side-Yard. The book occasionally slips into sentimentality, but it is largely free of it, because the book has a more comprehensive story to tell than just the relationship between its two characters. The verse which is interspersed between chapters is usually effective and works better than anticipated.

Without giving away too much of the story, this reviewer is left to wonder if hope really can keep a person alive; if history will ultimately judge America on how it treats its old, sick, and weak; and what in the world this country would be like if we were ever to lose our small towns.

Some stories need to be told, and some writers have a story they just have to tell. This is the case with Rick D. Niece’s The Side-Yard Superhero.

Recommended.

This review was written by Dave Moyer, educator and author of the novel Life and Life Only. He is currently working on his follow-up book, Younger Than That Now. Mr. Moyer also writes reviews for the New York Journal of Books. (A review copy was provided by Smith Publicity.)

Spring training has begun, which also means that the corresponding flooding is about to occur: flooding of the market with baseball books, that is. Though greats like Roger Angell (The Summer Game), Roger Kahn (The Boys of Summer), and Thomas Boswell (Why Time Begins on Opening Day) have chronicled the hold that baseball has on the American psyche with some of the finest writing this country has ever seen, it is not uncommon for critics to dismiss most baseball writing as something less than literature – classics such as Marc Harris’ Bang the Drum Slowly or W.P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe, notwithstanding.

If a younger generation of readers is unfamiliar with the names mentioned above, they are probably even less familiar with a man by the name of Eliot Asinof, who penned the book Man on Spikes. In this book, Asinof, who is most noted for Eight Men Out, an account of the infamous Black Sox scandal in the 1919 World Series, tells the story of Mike Kutner through the eyes of the people he encounters on his journey through the minor leagues – a journey interrupted by World War II.

Set in the 1930s, Mike’s love of the game is met with resentment from his coalminer father, who would rather see Mike contribute to the family income than play baseball. Now that Babe Ruth has burst on the scene, Mike’s street-smarts, fielding prowess, and knowledge of the game are underappreciated, and the scout who signs Mike faces ridicule. Along the way, the reader encounters – among myriad other characters – a ruthless minor league manager and a black player trying to crack the color barrier.

First published in 1955, Man on Spikes had been out of print until it was finally reissued in 1998. The new edition features a forward by Marvin Miller, the former Executive Director of the Major League Player’s Association, and a preface by Asinof, who reveals that Mike’s story is based on that of his old childhood friend.

When the urge hits this spring, instead of picking up the latest picture book of minor league ballparks or some insightful account of what was going through your favorite team’s manager’s mind in the seventh inning of a game from last season’s pennant race, go back in time and acquaint yourself with the story of Mike Kutner. No baseball fan could possibly regret it.

This review was written by Dave Moyer, author of the novel Life and Life Only. Reprinted courtesy of the New York Journal of Books and Mr. Moyer..

Thanks to Anna at Hachette Audio, we’re giving away three (3) audio book sets of On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System by Henry M. (Hank) Paulson, Jr. This is the unabridged version, on 13 CDs, that contains a special conversation with the author not found in the printed book version. Each audio book is valued at $34.98 U.S.; $41.98 Canadian.

Here is a synopsis of On the Brink, followed by two excerpts from recent reviews:

When Hank Paulson, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, was appointed in 2006 to become the nation’s next Secretary of the Treasury, he knew that his move from Wall Street to Washington would be daunting and challenging. But Paulson had no idea that a year later, he would find himself at the the very epicenter of the world’s most cataclysmic financial crisis since the Great Depression. Major institutions literally teetered at the edge of collapse. Worst of all, the credit crisis spread to all parts of the U.S. economy and grew more ominous with each passing day.

This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime economic nightmare. Events no one had thought possible were happening in quick succession. All eyes turned to the United States Treasury Secretary to avert the disaster.

This, then, is Hank Paulson’s first-person account. From the man who was in the very middle of this perfect economic storm, On the Brink is Paulson’s fast-paced account of the key decisions that had to be made with lightning speed. On the Brink is an extraordinary story about people and politics – all brought together during the world’s impending financial Armageddon.

Paulson’s first-person account of the epic financial collapse is just that – straightforward and direct. Shorn of anonymous, unsourced dish, it nonetheless offers plenty of excellent color and detail. Daniel Gross, The Washington Post

Provides a palpable sense of the nearly moment-to-moment developments and obstacles… Ted Sturtz, New York Journal of Books

This contest is easy to enter. Just post a comment here or send an e-mail to Josephsreviews@gmail.com . This will count as one entry. For a second entry, just tell us why you like to listen to audio book versions of best sellers.

You must be a resident of the U.S. or Canada and have a valid residential address. Audio books cannot be mailed to P.O. boxes.

The On the Brink contest will be open until midnight PST on Sunday, April 18, 2010. Good luck and good listening!

Ruta Arellano – Ruta received her B.A. from the University of California, the one in Berkeley. She served as the Associate Director of the California Self-Esteem Task Force and later worked as a research specialist with multiple state agencies. She tends to read and review crime mysteries, popular fiction, survey books, books on art and interior design, business books and those books that are hard to classify. Ruta also writes reviews for the New York Journal of Books, Sacramento Book Review and San Francisco Book Review.

Joseph Arellano – Joseph received his B.A. in Communication Arts from the University of the Pacific, where he wrote music and entertainment reviews for The Pacifican and the campus radio station, KUOP-FM. He then received his J.D. (law degree) from the University of Southern California, which is why he’s pretty good at writing legal disclaimers. He has served as a Public Information Officer for a state agency, which involved a lot of writing and editing work under heavy pressure and deadlines, and he was an adjunct professor at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). Joseph has done pre-publication editing and review work for a publisher based in England. He also writes – or has written – reviews for New York Journal of Books, Sacramento Book Review,San Francisco Book Review, Portland Book Review and Tulsa Book Review.

Munchy – Munchy is a senior Norwegian Forest Cat of the brown tabby variety. He only writes reviews of children’s books and only when he absolutely feels like it. (His children’s book reviews have appeared in San Francisco Book Review and Sacramento Book Review.) He intends to become the furry Publisher and Chief Feline Officer (CFO) of Brown Cat Books.

Dave Moyer – Dave is the author of the novel Life and Life Only and of several published short stories and essays. He regularly reviews books for this site and for the New York Journal of Books. Moyer is a former college baseball coach. A music lover and Bob Dylan junkie, Moyer has played drums in various ensembles over the years (but not with the Rolling Stones). He majored in English at the University of Wisconsin and earned a doctorate from Northern Illinois University. Moyer is a school superintendent in Southeastern Wisconsin and is an instructor for Aurora University. He currently resides in the greater Chicago area.

Kimberly Caldwell – Kimberly is a freelance writer and editor in Connecticut. She earned a B.A. in Journalism and Business at Lehigh University, and earned her chops as a reporter and copy editor at a daily newspaper, an editor of electronic display industry news, neurology studies and romance novels, and as the general manager of an independent fine-dining restaurant.

Kelly Monson – Kelly is a former school principal and special education teacher who earned her Doctorate, Educational Specialist Degree, Master’s Degree and Bachelor’s Degree from Northern Illinois University and a second Master’s in Educational Leadership from Aurora University. She is an avid reader and writer and travels extensively (with and without her three children). She currently resides in the greater Chicago area.